Questions to people who actually do the HIRING

1. I bet you get 50 resumes in for every opening and you only have time to interview 3-5 candidates per opening. Am I right?

2. What is the most common reason (pick a real reason, not something small like spelling errors) why you guys toss a resume at first glance?

3. of the people who get an interview, what is the most common reason why ding the majority of candidates?

If it affects your reply, assume these are for entry-level positions.

And by person who does the hiring, I mean the person in the interview who matters the most, whether it be HR or the senior manager

18 Comments
 

I guess the person in the interview who matters the most, whether it be HR or the senior manager

when you say "GPA", how low will you go before you throw away the resume without even reading the rest? I'm in non-target grad school now with a 3.27

______ Corporate financial/business analyst looking for career/MBA/CFA advice.
 

What type of position is this for? As someone who recruits and is essentially HR, I can say that your first assumption might not necessarily always be true.

"That dude is so haole, he don't even have any breath left."
 

It's not just one thing, when you're going from 100 resumes down to 3-5 anything that doesn't look right get's tossed. I would say that I typically go:

  1. First Glance - we still get a few that just look ridiculous (margins, I got one with a picture this year, etc...) I just toss those
  2. GPA
  3. Experience (internships)
  4. ECs

From there I've eliminated a decent portion. Then I look more closely at awards, actual experiences, interests, etc...

This is for F500 Corp Fin. IB may be slightly different, but the high-level criteria are the same. Also, we only allow Accounting and Fin majors to apply, so no need to screen for majors.

This probably isn't that helpful, but it's how it honestly works because you're narrowing to such a small % of applicants. Each resume probably gets about 5-10 seconds where I just see if there's a reason to toss it. Most are tossed in that time frame. The resumes that are left will then get a more thorough review.

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 
accountingbyday

It's not just one thing, when you're going from 100 resumes down to 3-5 anything that doesn't look right get's tossed. I would say that I typically go:

1. First Glance - we still get a few that just look ridiculous (margins, I got one with a picture this year, etc...) I just toss those
2. GPA
3. Experience (internships)
4. ECs

From there I've eliminated a decent portion. Then I look more closely at awards, actual experiences, interests, etc...

This is for F500 Corp Fin. IB may be slightly different, but the high-level criteria are the same. Also, we only allow Accounting and Fin majors to apply, so no need to screen for majors.

This probably isn't that helpful, but it's how it honestly works because you're narrowing to such a small % of applicants. Each resume probably gets about 5-10 seconds where I just see if there's a reason to toss it. Most are tossed in that time frame. The resumes that are left will then get a more thorough review.

Good information. Would you say that for experienced hires No.2 and No.3 are flipped? Just curious, thanks for your perspective.

 

Definitely. Once you're experienced, GPA matters very little. Once you're past Manager (Corp Fin titles) I dont think GPA really matters at all.

Martinghoul makes a good point. Above is my process for when I'm screening for fldps because I'm on campus getting resumes and really owning a lot of the process. When it's filling a typical role HR screens down to the best 10 or so resumes (although I presume their screening process is similar to mine)

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 
Best Response

My Z$2c...

  1. I don't get 50 resumes. By the time the process has percolated through the various HR filters, it's probably down to 10 or even less, depending on seniority. I will then participate in the interviewing of these people and occasionally cast a deciding vote.

  2. The tossing of resumes at first glance happens before I get to see them, given that our HR people know what they're doing. In the past, when we weren't so lucky, I only ever tossed a resume/CV because the candidate was obviously, blatantly not qualified for the position in question (i.e. no relevant experience, when such experience is an explicit requirement).

  3. As I may have mentioned in other threads, the most common reason for dinging candidates is arrogance. If someone tells me that they're good at something, but are unable to explain/articulate what exactly they do, how they do it and why they're so good at it, that's just a no go.

 
 
rothyman

Why not totally bypass the resume review process and try to get a warm introduction to the hiring manager?

To me, people who stand out are those who are introduced to me from a reliable source or have gone to great lengths to get in front of me in a tactful manner.

I thought you liked them behind you.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

I screened resumes for BX.

  1. We got about 800 resumes for summer analyst spots. Total of around 60 on campus interviews at various schools, and another 50 phone screens. Invited ~30 to second (final) rounds. Gave 5 or 6 offers, all accepted. Also had a spot reserved for a sophomore candidate (separate process) and a returning sophomore intern.

  2. Given the quantity of resumes, we had to be very objective. It was mostly down to school, GPA, and work experience. Interviewed a number of referrals, but otherwise I think everyone had 3.8+ GPA.

  3. Dinged mostly for stumbling through basic vault guide questions. Anything from the vault/WSO/BIWS guides, such calculating FCF/valuation/walk me through 3 statements, I would expect you to know cold.

 

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______ Corporate financial/business analyst looking for career/MBA/CFA advice.

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